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Dear Entrepreneur,

I’ve always believed that you should enjoy work. In an average job you spend half your waking day at it, for the largest portion of your life. Now I’m aware that being able to enjoy your job is a privilege, and certainly not one many people get, but if you can, if it’s possible, you should always try and do a job you enjoy.

As an entrepreneur, however, this becomes not just a nice-to-have, but absolutely vital. Completely critical to your success is the fact that you need to enjoy your normal day-to-day work. To build your business and to inspire others, if you can’t be upbeat and genuinely excited about what you do, then no-one else will be either.

When your idea is new, like a new love, everything is exciting. But once that first excitement has faded, what are you left with? I’ve known entrepreneurs who are always seeking the excitement of a new idea and a new project, but lose interest once they hit the daily grind of actually building a business. They may be lucky one day and hit upon something that makes it big quick enough before they lose interest, but the truth is that most businesses are built with hard work, sweat and tears over a longer period of time; years, not months.

The question is never “are you excited and enthusiastic about your business?” on day one, or day ten – that’s easy – but what about by day 100, or day 1,000? Three years into building your business will you still have the same puppy dog enthusiasm? Maybe, or maybe not, but that’s not important. What is important, what you absolutely must do, without question is really, really enjoy it.

I’m not talking about the occasional highs or lows, but the day-to-day activities, whatever it is that actually fills your waking hours with the building of the vision you’re creating, and the role you fulfil in shaping it. That could be anything from writing code to waiting tables, managing staff, or just having meetings and writing emails; whatever day-to-day role you take in your business. You have to love it, and not just when it’s new, but when you’re years in. If it’s a burden, if it’s a hassle, if you’d rather stay in bed, then this will show. Your staff will see it, your clients, your investors; it will be written plain across your face if you are not actually enjoying what you do. You can’t fake it, it’s not about having a smile on the outside while you’re crying on the inside; it needs to be genuine. Enjoy what you do and it will show to everyone around you.

After a bad day, when you got turned down for investment, some new competitor launched, or any one of myriad of setbacks that befall any business, you’re going to be depressed. The level of stress that building a business creates is huge, and not for the faint of heart. However, the enthusiasm you inject into your colleagues, your team, your friends, your family, is like a bank you can draw down on later. You’re going to have bad days, everyone does, that’s not a problem and you don’t have to hide them. If you have a good team and good colleagues, they will see this, they will recognise this is not the normal you, they will work to help you pick yourself back up, they will reflect back the enthusiasm you normally show on every other day.

At various times you’re probably going to question yourself, ask yourself what you are doing and why you are doing it. The what, I can’t begin to answer, but the why should be easy, and it’s not just as simple as to become rich.

It should be because you really love what you do.

Glenn Shoosmith

CEO & co-founder, Booking Bug Limited

www.bookingbug.com